Not Quite Forgotten
by Long Island grace
Summary: Formerly Misplaced Pity. Kaoru's point of view as she watches something beautiful unfold at the wrong place and time. Just some musings, contains an OC which I don't own. Not very WAFFy, just a bit cute.


A/N: Hey guys, dunno if you've noticed but Usashi-chan isn't coming out with the promised sequel yet…(no hard feelings, 'k? We know you'll get it up) and I was feeling highly WhiteRabbit5-fanfiction-deprived, so I came up with this short little vignette. Basically my ideas on how Naruku would confess her love. Would not be classified in drama at all. Believe me, it is not any of that stereotypical crap. I did not get influence from anything for this particular piece (except obviously WhiteRabbit5's fanfictions since she owns Naruku and Yosai mountain and everything.) And by the way, I have permission to be using Naruku. Even if I didn't, WhiteRabbit5 does not have copyright. But I still take no credit for Naruku in ANY way. (this little scene, though, is all me.) If you aren't able to tell (I don't think it says) this is in Kaoru's Point of View. 'k.

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She told him she loved him.

She told him she loved him and my heart shattered. The world closed around me.

Megumi watched the proceedings with me. Stupid, stupid of her to do it in front of everyone. At dinner, of all times. Aren't romantic scenes supposed to take place beneath cherry trees? By riversides? At sunset? And then she would pour her soul into him and he would rejoice and they would share a long passionate kiss...

But no. The stupid, idiotic girl I call my friend. Right over a dinner of my less-than-adequate food (yes, in a time like this, I will admit it) she just looks him straight in the eye.

"I love you," she says without hesitation.

What is wrong with her!?

I have never been one for hiding my emotions. That sort of thing is Aoshi-san's job. So when Megumi sees the look on my face—and after wiping the look on hers—she leans over and whispers, "Guess you really have no chance, now, huh, tanuki?"

Yeah, right, like after two years I am still in denial. Only a week after we were told, I accepted the fact that Kenshin and I will never share true love. I accepted the fact that we are related with such lady-like grace. In fact, I've come to find I prefer it this way. It's so much easier. I can love Kenshin unconditionally and _know_ that he loves me back. I have an excuse for why I board him in my dojo. I don't have to blush when he's around, or deploy failing schemes to get him to fall in love with me. We aren't in love, and that suits me fine.

After Naruku's daring proclamation, there is silence. Kenshin blinks, as though just figuring out she was talking to him.

Naruku smiles and gets up. Part of me thinks that's the kind of smile someone puts on when they are embarrassed to no end and just wish the world would swallow them up.

But seeing her walk past us, there was a certain sway in her hips that led me to believe otherwise. Naruku had just professed her love and gotten no response, and she was as happy as ever. Needless to say, this was frightening.

Kenshin smiles at both Megumi and I. I silently thank kami that Yahiko dragged Sano to the Akabeko to finally pay his tab. Apparently Tae started taking it out of the kid's paycheck.

Kenshin's is the apologetic smile. The confused smile. I don't blame him.

I pity Naruku. She is condemned the fate to be in love with Kenshin. Somehow I know she'll handle this situation differently than I would. Judging by this evening, that seems a given.

An hour later I pass by Naruku's room. She is readying herself for bed. After I am confident that she is fully dressed, I slowly slide open the door. She sits blissfully on her futon, soaking up the gentle moon's light. She looks like the epitome of sweet rapture. I frown.

"Naruku-chan," I say harshly. I need to get this out, once and for all. She starts at my barking words, but then calms.

"Kaoru-chan!" She chirps. She gestures inside so I sit down beside her. It seems like an act, this happiness. Something so that we won't feel sorry for her. But I know it's not. I know it from the half-lit smile that adorns her face. From the lilt in her voice. I pity her even more for being truly happy.

"Naruku-chan, if I may, can I ask what that was an hour ago?" I ask with puzzlement.

She nods happily. "I am a firm believer in being upfront."

That one sentence both allows me to ask, and answers my question.

Somehow, Megumi pops up in the doorway, holding a candle. "Yahiko-chan went to Sano's flat. I am staying over." She sits down beside us. "Naru-chan, you are a stupid, stupid girl."

She makes a small 'o' with her lips in surprise. She looks very cute, like a little child. Somehow I see that she is much wiser, in some ways, than either Megumi or me.

"You cannot simply _tell_ a man of your feelings! You have to be sure he likes you first. You must master the art of seduction, and have his affections firmly in your palm. Then, beneath the setting of the stars, sunset, sakura trees…you profess your undying love."

"Megumi-san, you sound like a match-maker," I giggle. Naruku laughs slightly along with me. Megumi's words are not reaching her.

Secretly, I am very glad. Though it may have shocked him at first, Naruku's upfront attitude is very respectful. I admire this. Kenshin does not deserve to be fooled and tricked by the infamous vixen. He deserves genuinely. He deserves the unblushing bluntness. Basically, that is Naruku.

"Megumi-san," Naruku begins. "I didn't tell Kenshin I loved him so he would we would act on it. I didn't tell him so he would tell me it back. And I didn't say it to intrigue him or anything…"

"Then what _did_ you say it for?" Megumi asks sharply.

Naruku cranes her neck to stare at the blank ceiling. Some of the tiles are chipping off. "I don't know. I guess I said it because I felt it, that's all. I wanted him to know. That's it."

Megumi apparently has nothing to say about this. She is thoroughly confused, and I can't say I'm making sense of it either.

"Look, neither of you were really there, but… when Kenshin fell off Yosai mountain…well, after feeling completely alone, angry and sad, I felt regret. I never worked things out with him. I told him I loved him all that time ago and then I just ignored it until now. I mean, I still felt the same way, I just thought we'd forget about it and go through all that stuff you just mentioned, Megumi. But something was always dangling between us, those not-quite forgotten words."

I think about this. I think I get it. When she thought Kenshin had died, somewhere inside of her she made an eternal vow to be completely upfront about her emotions. She hated being confused all the time so she started to get that 'living-life-to-the-fullest' attitude. I wonder if this is a good or a bad attitude for a relationship with someone like Kenshin.

"So…how is this any different?" I ask slowly. "I mean, won't it still be like something is between you guys? Probably something bigger."

"Well…I guess they are the same," she does not sound very concerned about this. "I mean, they're the same words, right? I guess…back then, I only told him because I was explaining something. Explaining how I knew how he felt a lot of the time. This time I only said it because that's what I felt like saying."

Maybe this makes sense.

"But why now?" Megumi speaks up. "Why not underneath the stars on the roof one night? Why not on a romantic dinner between just the two of you? Why over some crappy dinner made by tanuki-chan?"

"Hey!" I snap. "My food is just fine." I try to forget the fact that this is exactly what I was thinking an hour ago. The truth is that when Naruku did something as unromantic as confess her love to Kenshin over my dinner…somehow now it seems like the most passionate action I have ever heard of. Like it belongs in a fairytale.

Naruku shrugs. For someone who is so upfront with everything, she doesn't seem to know what's coming next at all. "I don't know. I was just looking at it and I…I just thought 'I love this man. I love him more than I thought it was possible to love someone'..." She trails off, and I wonder if she is uncertain about sharing all this with us. I appreciate her no-bullshit rule for us, but there is a line, she has to know. And she doesn't have to cross it if she doesn't want to. "I mean, in two days I will turn twenty-one, and I didn't want to think that another year had passed where I kept this inside."

I had my doubts, but Naruku really had loved him all this time. I certainly don't blame her. I wonder if I should try having a similar conversation with Kenshin. Does he love her? The answer is most likely yes. But it would feel wrong to ask, like I was ruining something for the both of them. I just hope Megumi has sense not to interfere.

"Also…" Naruku trails off shyly. "If Kenshin tells me he loves me, I don't want him to do it for me."

And I thought she was making sense.

"I mean…I told him I loved him because _I_ wanted him to know. If Kenshin ever does the same to me, I don't want him to because he feels obligated to answer when I say that. I would want him to say it because that's what he feels. Kenshin does too much for everyone else. He should do this for himself," Naruku says. Her eyes have sort of a gleam in them, enough to make me wonder what is going on in her head, if I hadn't wondered before.

Naruku shakes her head. "I need to sleep," she says.

Maybe she is more confused than I thought. It seemed like she knew exactly what she was doing. But then again, Naruku has always let her emotions take the reigns and her mind take a passenger seat. She is just that way.

"Alright Naru-chan," I say sweetly, patting her knee. "I hope you guys can figure this out. I don't like awkward situations around the dojo."

Naruku giggled and I know in that short span of laughter that she does not have to worry.

It strange, but Naruku, the one most prone to an awkward situation at the given time, will be the only one in this house who won't feel it.

When she says good morning to Kenshin, he will feel uncomfortable. And everyone else in the room will feel like they have to strain to cover up the bungling moment.

And I just know Naruku will be grinning at us, somehow knowing so little while knowing so much.

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A/N: Kind of odd, it's true, but to me, this just seems how it would go down. I mean, Naruku is too down-to-Earth to mess around with any of that flirting and romantic settings and perfect timing crap that Megumi seems fond of ranting about. She is such a hypocrite ;-p

Hopefully this will not be my last Naruku/Kenshin one-shot fic. (I can say for a fact that it will not be my last RK fic. I definitely have some planned!) Even though, I realize NK is NOT a real pairing in any way, I just think that Naruku is basically the only technically-considered-Mary-Sue OC that actually succeeded. I mean, come on. Well, at least the only one I've ever seen (which reminds me that WhiteRabbit5 seriously needs some more fame…though probably I should be working on my own claim first). I just want to let you know, I am not a creature of habit. I will sit down and write at random times, in the middle of taking a call, even. Or sometimes I will avoid my computer like the plague. So I can't put a time-stamp on any possible fanfictions to come. Just know that they _will_ come.


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